Effects of Soil Compaction Stress Combined with Drought on Soil Pore Structure, Root System Development, and Maize Growth in Early Stage
Soil compaction is a major environmental stress to root development and plant growth. Meanwhile, drought always results in increasing soil mechanical impedance, which in turn aggravates soil compaction stress. In this study, a column experiment with three levels of compaction stress (low, moderate,...
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2024-11-01
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| author | Xiangming Zhu Wei Peng Qingyang Xie Enhua Ran |
| author_facet | Xiangming Zhu Wei Peng Qingyang Xie Enhua Ran |
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| description | Soil compaction is a major environmental stress to root development and plant growth. Meanwhile, drought always results in increasing soil mechanical impedance, which in turn aggravates soil compaction stress. In this study, a column experiment with three levels of compaction stress (low, moderate, and severe) and two levels of soil water content (well-watered and drought,) was established to investigate the effects of soil compaction combined with drought on soil pore structure, root development, and maize growth properties. The results showed that soil compaction combined with soil water stress significantly affected the characteristics of soil pore structure. With the increase in soil compaction, the porosity, larger pores (>500 μm), and maximum pore diameter significantly decreased (<i>p</i> < 0.05) regardless of soil water status. Additionally, both pore morphology and network parameters also deteriorated under soil compaction with drought conditions. Soil compaction substantially affected the root length, root volume, root surface area, and root average diameter in the whole profile (<i>p</i> < 0.05). Compared to well-watered conditions, the effects of soil compaction on root characteristics under drought conditions were more obvious, which indicated that appropriate soil water content could alleviate compaction stress. The aboveground biomass and plant height showed a consistent trend with root traits under soil compaction stress regardless of water status. A Pearson’s correlation analysis showed that there were significant correlations between most soil pore parameters and maize growth traits. In addition, soil compaction showed a significant effect on both stomatal conductance and transpiration rate while soil water showed a significant effect on SPAD (Soil Plant Analysis Development). |
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| publishDate | 2024-11-01 |
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| spelling | doaj-art-b8da9b7a2948478b99baead6328cea262025-08-20T02:27:36ZengMDPI AGPlants2223-77472024-11-011322318510.3390/plants13223185Effects of Soil Compaction Stress Combined with Drought on Soil Pore Structure, Root System Development, and Maize Growth in Early StageXiangming Zhu0Wei Peng1Qingyang Xie2Enhua Ran3State Key Laboratory of Black Soils Conservation and Utilization, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 138 Haping Road, Harbin 150081, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Black Soils Conservation and Utilization, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 138 Haping Road, Harbin 150081, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Black Soils Conservation and Utilization, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 138 Haping Road, Harbin 150081, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Black Soils Conservation and Utilization, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 138 Haping Road, Harbin 150081, ChinaSoil compaction is a major environmental stress to root development and plant growth. Meanwhile, drought always results in increasing soil mechanical impedance, which in turn aggravates soil compaction stress. In this study, a column experiment with three levels of compaction stress (low, moderate, and severe) and two levels of soil water content (well-watered and drought,) was established to investigate the effects of soil compaction combined with drought on soil pore structure, root development, and maize growth properties. The results showed that soil compaction combined with soil water stress significantly affected the characteristics of soil pore structure. With the increase in soil compaction, the porosity, larger pores (>500 μm), and maximum pore diameter significantly decreased (<i>p</i> < 0.05) regardless of soil water status. Additionally, both pore morphology and network parameters also deteriorated under soil compaction with drought conditions. Soil compaction substantially affected the root length, root volume, root surface area, and root average diameter in the whole profile (<i>p</i> < 0.05). Compared to well-watered conditions, the effects of soil compaction on root characteristics under drought conditions were more obvious, which indicated that appropriate soil water content could alleviate compaction stress. The aboveground biomass and plant height showed a consistent trend with root traits under soil compaction stress regardless of water status. A Pearson’s correlation analysis showed that there were significant correlations between most soil pore parameters and maize growth traits. In addition, soil compaction showed a significant effect on both stomatal conductance and transpiration rate while soil water showed a significant effect on SPAD (Soil Plant Analysis Development).https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/13/22/3185maizesoil compactiondroughtsoil pore characteristics |
| spellingShingle | Xiangming Zhu Wei Peng Qingyang Xie Enhua Ran Effects of Soil Compaction Stress Combined with Drought on Soil Pore Structure, Root System Development, and Maize Growth in Early Stage Plants maize soil compaction drought soil pore characteristics |
| title | Effects of Soil Compaction Stress Combined with Drought on Soil Pore Structure, Root System Development, and Maize Growth in Early Stage |
| title_full | Effects of Soil Compaction Stress Combined with Drought on Soil Pore Structure, Root System Development, and Maize Growth in Early Stage |
| title_fullStr | Effects of Soil Compaction Stress Combined with Drought on Soil Pore Structure, Root System Development, and Maize Growth in Early Stage |
| title_full_unstemmed | Effects of Soil Compaction Stress Combined with Drought on Soil Pore Structure, Root System Development, and Maize Growth in Early Stage |
| title_short | Effects of Soil Compaction Stress Combined with Drought on Soil Pore Structure, Root System Development, and Maize Growth in Early Stage |
| title_sort | effects of soil compaction stress combined with drought on soil pore structure root system development and maize growth in early stage |
| topic | maize soil compaction drought soil pore characteristics |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/13/22/3185 |
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